


Get In Losers, We’re Saving Christmas !

by HydraNoMago



Series: Santa and Krampus AU [2]
Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), The Try Guys (Web Series), Watcher Entertainment RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Christmas Fluff, Episode Related, Fluff, Humor, Idiots in Love, Immortals, Krampus - Freeform, M/M, Made For Each Other, Magic, Too Many Spirits, santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:15:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27991371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HydraNoMago/pseuds/HydraNoMago
Summary: “So you want me,” Ryan pointed to himself with full exaggeration, hoping Steven would change his mind, “to play Santa for these kids?”Steven pulled him in and directed his attention to one of the bullet points on his paper. “Look, you even get to bring one of the Krampuses along! You know, you could always ask Shane.”Santa and Krampus AU — Ryan and Shane are idiots, Steven is the best wingman, and everyone can see the open secret miles away. Oh, and they’re supposed to rescue Christmas.
Relationships: Ryan Bergara/Shane Madej, Zach Kornfeld/Eugene Lee Yang
Series: Santa and Krampus AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2050128
Comments: 10
Kudos: 54





	Get In Losers, We’re Saving Christmas !

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you everyone for your support and encouraging responses! Your kudos and especially your comments did wonders to my motivation for continuing this AU. 
> 
> Hope this one is enjoyable too! 
> 
> Plenty of double meanings at the end. 
> 
> (Please read the first short fic for the full experience, and the basis of the lore.)

**_It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…_ **

* * *

Ryan huffed out great lungfuls of air as he touched the tips of his fingers to his toes, serotonin boosted from the exercise. Behind him, the training grounds were relatively empty; which made sense since everyone had already had their fill of physical exertion from delivering presents on Christmas Eve. There was a comical shout of surprise as one of the Santas found himself stuck in the practice chimneys, but before Ryan could run over to help (and tease the poor victim about taking off their belly pouches), he was hit lightly on the head.

“Ow! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” He whirled around to face his attacker, a hand rubbing the crown of his head tentatively.

Steven rolled his eyes so hard, Ryan was worried they would roll out onto the floor like two Halloween-themed marbles. “It wasn’t that hard of a bonk.”

“That was no bonk,” he seethed with narrowed eyes, “that was clearly a bump.”

“No, I’m sure it was a bonk,” Steven replied breezily, avoiding Ryan’s death glare and his dramatics as he flipped through his clipboard rapidly to land on the page he needed. “I need your help with something, by the way.”

“Depends on what it is.” Ryan towelled off his sweat, and began packing his things. “I’m not helping you do a business pitch again, you know how bad I am at that.”

“It was fine, Ryan. Good Venn diagram.”

“I can’t believe you managed to say that with a straight face.”

Steven cracked a smile, his serious facade dropping almost immediately. Ryan was a very talented person, but he should never be left in charge of important business pitches. Steven learnt that the hard way. “Look, it wasn’t that bad, so don’t worry about it! Anyway!” he held up a hand to stop Ryan from interrupting and spiralling them further down the rabbit hole, “This isn’t a business pitch.” He deftly spun the clipboard towards Ryan and tapped on the paragraph which was circled in red and marked with various highlighter colours. He watched carefully as Ryan took in the information quickly, eyes widened, then re-read the paragraph more slowly.

“So you want me,” Ryan pointed to himself with full exaggeration, hoping Steven would change his mind, “to play Santa for these kids?”

“You gotta understand, these kids technically missed Christmas because of their scheduled operations,” Steven began (and Ryan could _hear_ how the tone of his voice changed, became more professional and charming). “They were practically asleep for the whole of Christmas Day! Can you imagine missing Christmas? How dismal it must be? How _lonely_?” Steven stressed with a pointed look.

Ryan tried not to read too much into that last word. “Yeah okay, Lim, don’t need to sell it to me,” he teased and nudged Steven a little, happy that the other recognised it as a joke. “But why me? There are so many other Santas around, just get one of them.”

“Many Santas?” Steven deadpanned, and deliberately swivelled his gaze around the empty training room.

“Dammit, Carl was just here!”

“Soooooooo….” There was a twinkle in Steven’s eye, which made him look full of glee and cunning simultaneously. “Looks like it’s just you.”

“Fucking hell,” Ryan grumbled under his breath, kicking at his gym bag.

“Aww, don’t be mad bro! Think of it this way: You are essentially saving Christmas for these kids.” Swinging an arm over Ryan’s shoulders, Steven pulled him in and directed his attention to one of the bullet points on his paper. “Look, you even get to bring one of the Krampuses along!”

Ryan frowned at that, and tried not to let his excitement of spending a day with a certain Krampus show. Not that he had thought about it constantly after their last delivery, nope. He was perfectly fine, he was. It’s not like he spent every conscious minute thinking how nice it would be to hang out after work instead of returning to his apartment alone again. Decidedly not thinking about that. Instead, he said “Do I have to?”

But Steven was no fool. “You know,” he began conversationally, looking at the training equipment instead of Ryan to give him some space, “you could ask Shane.”

The reaction was instantaneous, and Steven had to clamp both hands over his mouth to keep from laughing at Ryan’s sudden explosion of colour. “Sh-Shane? What makes you think I should? Not that I wouldn’t, but there are plenty of other Krampuses around, not just him. I could ask Devon! I’m sure she’d be great with the kids. Not too sure about Shane, I mean, have you seen him? His height alone may scare the kids stiff, and we definitely do _not_ need that happening,”

“Ryan!” Steven laughed, clamping his hands onto the other’s shoulders to stop his rant. “Chill, man. You’re gonna pop a nerve.” He checked his watch. As much as he was amused by Ryan’s blatant display of embarrassment, they really did have to get a move on. “Whatever it is, just ask Shane to wait outside of the department store on 33rd street in,” he checked his watch again, “33 minutes alright?”

Before Ryan could stutter out an answer, Steven had already patted him encouragingly on the back and was power-walking away to his next business appointment; this time with the top brass from Samsung to negotiate a deal on providing their devices at a discount price as presents for children.

“I’m not asking Shane!” he finally managed to strangle out of his own throat just as Steven neared the door.

“Yes you are!” Steven returned without looking back, stride paced.

“And what makes you so sure?” Ryan advanced a little.

At this Steven whirled around gracefully and pointed an upturned palm, “Because, and no offence Ryan, _you_ are an open book; written for very dumb children.”

It was luck that Steven had just closed the door as Ryan hurled one of the ever-present gingerbread men from the counter at it; or that was what Ryan told himself through the heat of his blushes that he could feel on his neck. “You still look like an idiot in that green costume!” The weak insult echoed off the empty walls of the room, landing at no one. Ryan angrily grabbed another gingerbread man and snapped its head off with his teeth. 

* * *

Shane jolted at the sharp jab aimed at his ribs and hissed in pain.

“Keep those eyes open,” TJ muttered lowly, his own eyes glued ahead to the podium where their boss, Krampus, was rattling off numbers.

Shane stuck a tongue out at his seat partner. He didn’t care if it was childish, one doesn’t just commit bodily harm to their friend just because they almost fell asleep during the ‘ _important_ ’ address. He whispered his thoughts, but TJ said nothing; only jabbed him again.

“And that concludes the statistics for this year on nightmare production,” Krampus droned, snapping his moth-eaten folder shut with all the lethargic pizzaz of a teacher who was forced to educate ten year olds on a daily basis. He slid his specially made glasses off, and placed them gingerly on the side of the scratched podium. “Now,” he continued in that same register, lifting his head to stare out into the inky darkness where all his employees sat. “I’d like to remind you all, _gently_ , about the content of nightmares.” He flung his arms tiredly to brace the podium, and loomed over it. The other Krampuses stirred in their seats, backs automatically straightening as the foreshadowing of a storm passed over them.

“Our job is to educate children,” Krampus continued in his monotonous drone. Though his tone never changed, the words seemed to contain more gravity than usual. “Yes, we achieve that by scaring them, and though it may not be the healthiest method; it has so far not proved to be ineffective. Some of you,” Shane shivered in his seat as he thought the molten red and gold eyes focused on him, “are too lenient. While others,” Krampus’ horns cast long shadows as he turned his head, “are too extreme.”

Silence reigned in the hall. “We count it as an accomplishment if the naughty child we _educate_ ,” here he stressed the word with a pointed and gnarled claw slicing through the stuffy air, “makes it onto the **NICE** list next year. We fail, when they don’t.” He punched some buttons on the control panel, and the projector screen slowly rolled open behind him, creaking all the way. He fumbled with his laptop and tried to look for the slides he needed, but forgot he couldn’t see very well, and reached for his glasses.

Beside Shane, TJ was still robotically riveted to the stage. Boring. Shane himself was beginning to doze off again, but lest he incur the wrath of a certain serious friend, he pinched himself on the inner arm hard. As everyone watched their boss wrangle with technology, Shane felt a phantom warmth in his hands. Presents. It was the first time he had, in a manner of speaking, given presents to children. He couldn’t help the smile which stretched his features as he thumbed the pages of his memory; and was bathed in a rosy glow.

“What are you smiling about?”

Shane quickly shut the book and tamped down the fuzzy feelings threatening to overcome him. He floundered, “Nothing.”

Even in the dark, he could see the doubt painted clearly on TJ’s face. “Sure,” TJ recrossed his arms over his chest; and Shane breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Krampus gave a monotonous but joyful ‘ _There we go!_ ’ as he finally, _finally_ , found the right slide; and Shane was never more grateful to have something boring to fix his attention on. He opened his eyes as wide as he could, resolutely not blinking; because if he did, all he could see would be the overjoyed smile of one Ryan Bergara.

Halfway into Krampus’ great analysis of the number of children who went on the **NICE** list this year compared to the last, TJ leaned over and whispered, “You’re still blushing.”

* * *

Shane was not still blushing, despite the relentless teasing from his co-workers. He hunched down further into his dreary cubicle, cursing at whoever decided to make the walls so low and half-arse the open space plan of the office floor. He hit the numbers on his keyboard harder than he should have, and kept his eyes fixed on the screen though it hurt to do so too long.

“So you’re in love with your partner, Ryan, so what?” Zach enthused for the ninetieth time since he overheard TJ’s teasing at the coffee station. “It’s not like it’s a huge secret which could potentially bring about the end of the world as we know it.” At the desk beside him, Eugene nodded absently.

Shane resolutely did not reply, and resolutely tried (tried being the operative word) not to let the thought of Ryan’s watery eyes as the sun shone in them melt him into a puddle of goo.

“I think it’s really sweet! You two have been dancing on the fringes of this one for some time after all!” While Devon was the softest person he knew, Shane would really appreciate it if she didn’t dig into this further.

“Dancing?” TJ exclaimed with disbelief. “They were waltzing for decades, hands clasped tightly together, faces close, huddled against the world!” Shane threw a paperclip at him, but TJ deftly dodged it, then toasted him with his coffee mug before taking a sip.

Zach cooed from his seat, “Aww, that’s so cute! Remember when you were in denial, Eugene?”

“Hey, I was never in denial,” Eugene kicked at Zach’s feet. “You were the one who needed to go slow.”

“And you accommodated it so well, darling, I’m proud of you.”

With practiced ease, Eugene shoved Zach’s obnoxious kissy faces out of the way. “It’s not a crime to have relations with the Santas,” he directed at Shane despite the forced silence then. “Even if it were, it’s a stupid rule, and rules are made to be broken.”

“Coming from the person who banged his boyfriend in the cleaning cabinet,” TJ muttered into his mug with a severe eye roll.

“We locked it!”

“There was a sign on the door!” Zach added indignantly.

Devon sighed, “Boys, calm down. It’s Shane we need to be helping right now.”

“No. Thank you, but I don’t need help,” he finally said, turning around in his chair to face his friends. There was a tick in his jaw which he worked, and he forcefully clawed out the sentence which had been brewing, “I’m not in love with him.”

His friends all groaned with frustration at once.

Sand. Nails. A piece of sharp metal twisting in his gut. Even to his own ears he heard how weak it sounded, how much it was a lie.

“Amor est amor!” Zach yelled, earning shushes from the other people around them typing away at their reports. “You can’t be an emotionally repressed coward just because you think he’s out of your league.”

“I didn’t say that—”

“You thought it, honey. Everyone can see it on your face,” Devon patted his hand.

“Profiter dú present! Gabh an latha! Carpe diem!”

Eugene scoffed, “You used google translate didn’t you. We can practically hear the discrepancies already.”

“沈黙は金なり!” Zach shushed.

“It’s bullshit no matter what language you say it in!” Eugene threw his hands up into the air. 

“Whatever! The point still stands,” Zach confidently planted his hands on his hips, as imposing as a meerkat. “You gotta go and get what you want before it’s too late! Don’t make the mistake of thinking that things can wait, because spoiler alert!” His voice dipped into seriousness, “They can't.”

Shane had to hand it to Zach, he wasn’t known as ‘ _The Persuader_ ’ for nothing, even without using his magic powers. He heard his phone ping from his desk, and clamped his mouth tightly to avoid showing any anticipation or distress on his face.

“Hey Shane!” TJ yelled purposely. “Message from your boyfriend!”

They had texted each other after exchanging numbers on that magical Christmas Day, but Shane was not expecting the urgent ‘ _Meet me in 33 mins. 33rd street, that gaudy department store._ ’ There were piles of work all over his desk, and he was almost overdue for his report. Normally, Shane wouldn’t hesitate to type off an apology and not heed it, but this was _Ryan_. Ryan, who saw through him and actually offered solace when no one else did.

With shaking fingers, he typed a ‘ _Hope it’s not a robbery._ _See you there!_ ’ and dropped his phone back where it belonged. He didn’t notice the knowing looks his friends shared behind his back.

* * *

“Hey, Shane!” Ryan greeted as he clambered out of the car, pulse running a mile a minute. He had rushed through his shower and his check-in report on the sleigh; telling himself constantly after sending that message (one which took ten minutes of deliberation no less) that it was fine. Shane would help him, and they could just spend the day together as co-workers. (A part of Ryan’s traitorous brain laughed and dared him not to fall further. Ryan knew deep down that he couldn’t catch himself ever again.)

Shane waved back and watched with amusement at how small Ryan looked without the Santa costume on as he darted towards him. “So what’s the emergency? Cryptid attack? Lost puppy? Your stomach sending S.O.S. signals again?”

“Long story short,” Ryan huffed impatiently, “we need to dress up as Santa and Krampus for some kids who missed Christmas.”

“Were they not aware that the 25th had rolled in?”

“Operation. Slept the whole day.”

Shane frowned. “Oh. That’s sad.”

“Yeah, it is,” Ryan said softly, noting the way Shane meant what he said. This absurdly tall man was much too soft to be Krampus, Ryan confirmed. He loved the children too much. “But we can make it up to them. Dress up for an afternoon, bring in the Christmas cheer. Give them ho-ho-ho-hope!” He ended with a flourish, not wanting to scrutinise why he _needed_ Shane to be happy.

Shane wheezed a little, “Don’t do that ever again, it’s a bad bit.”

“It’s a wonderful bit, you just have no taste.”

“No taste? Moi?” Shane fanned himself dramatically, and Ryan had to admit that the gesture did look odd; he was so used to seeing Shane with his long Krampus nails that looking at his human form was a tad jarring. “Says the person who lusts over Chipotle.”

Corking his thoughts, Ryan retorted with a sharp, “Chipotle is fucking delicious!”

“It’s a fast food joint, _Ryan_.”

“Why do you have to be so elitist, _Shane_?”

“I’m not! But I’m also not a person who eats Chipotle for every meal. Every. Single. One.”

Before Ryan could continue defending the honour of his beloved Chipotle from Shane’s nefarious hipster fingers, they both heard a loud honk behind them.

“Hey you two!” Steven yelled from the driver’s seat. “Yeah you, bickering married couple!” Ryan started to protest, and Shane blushed hotly to the tips of his ears; but Steven really had no time to sort out their lovelorn banter right now. “Get in losers! We’re saving Christmas!”

* * *

“Why does this suit smell like the sea?” Shane complained as he sniffed tentatively at the ratty Krampus suit Steven tossed at him, before disappearing to go talk to the people in charge. He was offended by the garishness of the whole costume, and was of firm belief that his real Krampus form was much more elegant.

Ryan grunted assent, struggling tp push his head through the neck of his Santa costume. When he finally popped his head up, his hair was sprinkled with red fuzz. “Couldn’t Steven get us some usable ones? These are like thirty years old and drenched in the sweat of generations before us.”

Shane dabbed the white makeup onto his face, setting a base. “Budget cuts.” He flicked the brow pencil and did his brows in. “Always budget cuts.”

“That’s a load of horse shit, and you know it.”

Shane hummed noncommittally, colouring in the circles around his eyes. As Ryan adjusted the Santa hat above his head, Shane took him in. “I see they’ve cut the cost from your belly pouch too.”

“Oh har har, very funny.” Ryan nudged Shane aside to look in the single full-length mirror in the locker room, checking that everything was in place. “The socks they gave you aren’t long enough for your legs,” he pointed out. “Looks like you’re wearing go go boots.”

“Yeah you’re right,” Shane laughed, pausing his makeup routine and willing himself not to leak tears. “You can see the denim of my pants.”

“Behold: A Modern Krampus! Wears go go boots, denim jeans, and looks like he hasn’t slept for centuries.”

“Call me Barry Bluejeans!” Shane crowed triumphantly.

Ryan wheezed, hand coming up to try to stifle it and retain some professionalism lest the people outside hear. “What kind of name is that?”

“The name of the very best cowboy in all the land,” Shane drawled in his lazy Southern accent.

As their fresh round of breathless laughter petered out, it was suddenly too quiet, and too close. The walls of the narrow room combined with the pressed space in front of the mirror lent a heavy heat to the air. This close, Ryan could feel the line of Shane’s arm against his; and Shane could see the silvery scar Ryan had attained one delivery when he was kicked in the face by an especially irate reindeer.

They weren’t aware of who swallowed through the lump in their throat first, or who started dispelling the oppressive silence with empty banter. They avoided their faces in the mirror, all too aware of the blooming red and pinks there.

“Should we go?”

“Yeah we should.” Shane opened the door for Ryan with an obsequious bow, relishing in the other’s endearing raspberry blown at him. “After you.”

* * *

“Santa, where’s your belly?”

Ryan groaned inwardly at the dreaded question. The children sitting in their beds arranged around them had started off the session with their eyes trained on his flat stomach, but said nothing. Apparently, once they became more comfortable (and were not scared to death by a goofy Krampus who kept dropping their wish lists thanks to his fake claws), everything was free real estate.

“Santa went to the gym, Darla!” Shane whispered conspiratorially as he picked up another fallen letter, earning himself a beady glare from Ryan.

“And you still keep your beard?” a boy named Tirnian asked as he wiped his nose.

“Yes, I do,” Ryan said in a tone as jolly as possible, and leaned down to wipe the boy’s nose on his sleeve. Steven can be in charge of dry cleaning. “Exercise is very ho-ho-ho-ealthy for you!” He felt rather than saw Shane shake his head in despair at the bit. The children however, giggled, so Ryan counted that as an absolute win.

He asked them about the lovely Christmas tree in the corner which the nurses helped them decorate, and that sparked a lively discussion amongst the children; one boy named Boris even proudly proclaiming that he didn’t need to set up a tree every year because it lives in the house all year round. “It’s always Christmas in my house!”

“Is it always Christmas for you too Santa?”

“Even for Krampus?”

“Are there always sweets and toys?”

“Do you keep the children in Tupperware boxes so you can eat them all year round?”

“Okay, okay, children, one at a time,” Ryan refereed as he stole a glance at Shane’s poorly hidden mirth.

Darla piped up, “Are Santa and Krampus best friends?”

Shane and Ryan swivelled their heads to look at each other; the children were quietly waiting for their answer. Were they friends? After knowing one another for so long and always partnering up, yes the logical label would be ‘Friends’. But best friends? _Or something more?_ Shane’s traitorous thoughts flared up, laughing at the gritting of his teeth. The speech that his boss gave earlier floated into his mind. There was no need to accommodate the children’s fantasies if it meant that Krampus couldn’t scare them into being nice. “Oh I don’t know…” Shane stalled, pretending to think about it more. The truth was perched on his tongue.

“Of course we are,” Ryan said sincerely,declaration cutting through the room.

Shane’s eyes widened and he steeled his thumping heart. “We are?” Even underneath the mass of white curls, he could see the resolution swimming in Ryan’s bright eyes.

Something in Shane’s open expression, the innocent way he asked the question as if he couldn’t quite believe his ears made Ryan’s heart clench. He cleared his throat. “I deliver the presents, you correct the children. That’s a partnership if I’ve ever heard of one.” He willed his voice not to break. “Couldn’t do it without you.”

He worked his jaw, but no sound was coming out. Exaggerating his movements for the theatricality of it, he pretended to wipe away some tears, “Aww, thank you Santa. That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” The children laughed, and the only thing betraying it from the joke it posed itself to be was the wateriness of Shane’s voice.

“Thank god poor Krampus has friends!” Darla exclaimed happily, and the other children all agreed; some of them even edged closer to cling to Shane’s lanky arm.

Shane looked like he was actually about to cry, so Ryan looked away.

* * *

“You okay, big guy?” Ryan asked gently as they changed out of their costumes in the locker room.

“Yeah,” Shane’s voice was still a bit shaky, “yeah, I’m fine.”

Ryan shrugged and pulled on his t-shirt, taking refuge in the momentary darkness it offered. He stuffed his costume into a blue trash bag, ready to be collected by Steven after. Shane’s reflection in the mirror was more stooped over the usual, more tired than Ryan had ever seen. His hand tugged him forwards, and he traced his fingers softly on Shane’s reflected shoulders; wishing he could do the same without the glass.

* * *

They stood at the entrance of the hospital, waiting for Steven to come pick them up. He had cited another business meeting halfway through their session with the kids, and promised to fetch them once it was over, but it was getting late. The long fingers of evening were long gone, leaving a muddled darkness behind. The stars were extinguished by the city lights.

Next to him, Ryan had his face in his phone, the blue light of the screen casting an ethereal glow to his face. Shane marvelled to himself once again how small Ryan was compared to his oversized frame; yethow much braver he was too. Today had been… as special as their last delivery run. Maybe even more so. He could feel a similar warmth from that day envelop itself around him, bracing him from danger and the cold. His fingers twitched with a want to touch.

The parking lot in front of them was still full of cars; families staying as long as they can with each other, especially the children. Oh, the children. Shane wanted to shield them all from the horrors of the world, from the unfairness of it all. To think that bitter adults were all children, once. But the children, they accepted him, and his strangeness. To them, he wasn’t off-putting. To them, they probably saw what Shane sees in Ryan every time: kindness.

“Shane, you sure you okay?” Ryan looked up concernedly at the muffled sob the other emitted, his hand coming up automatically to wrap around Shane’s arm. “Shane, talk to me, buddy.”

“I’m fine, I’m fine, just—” He took a few deep breaths and surreptitiously tried to wipe his tears away by dragging a hand down his face. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Ryan’s open sincerity, those big eyes which saw the world in a better light. It was too much.

Ryan chewed on the tip of his thumb. “Shane,” he shook the other a little, the worry tainting his veins,“you don’t have to hide from me.”

There it was again, that uncanny ability of his to know what Shane was really doing. “I’m not,” he protested weakly, but wasn’t willing to pull away from Ryan’s tightening grasp. “I just need,” he licked his dry lips, “time. Just some time.”

“Okay,” Ryan conceded softly. “Take all the time you need.”

Shane didn’t know what possessed him then (or maybe he did), but he huffed a bitter laugh. “You make it sound like you’d be waiting.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“ _Ryan_.”

“We’re best friends,” Ryan stated stubbornly, without a trace of hesitation. “So, you can take all the time you want. I’ll wait for you. Always. And when you’re ready,” his own eyes searched brown ones, tracking every movement, “you can talk to me.”

Shane buried his face in his hands and groaned. Ryan rocked onto the balls of his feet, suddenly afraid that he may have crossed a line; the need to apologise and salvage whatever they had left drowned him. It’s okay if Shane didn’t want to be best friends, or even just friends. They could go back to the way they were, partners who met each other just once every year. That was fine too. If that was all that Shane wanted, if that was all Ryan could get; he would snap it up and cradle it close.

His nerves prickled with anxiety. “Shane,” he began, but the rest of it was lost into the ether as the other wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug; not quite managing to lift him off the ground. Stunned, Ryan encircled his arms around Shane’s shaking torso without thinking too much about it; knowing instinctively that this was what they needed.

They held their position for a while, maybe minutes, maybe hours. At last, Shane sniffled a “ _Thank you_ ” into Ryan’s hair; before slowly letting go . “Ryan Bergara,” he breathed with wonder, as if witnessing a miracle firsthand, “you’re magical.”

Ryan spluttered, aware that his face was aflame. “You’re a sap,” he complained, despite the fluttering of his heart.

“Yeah, I guess I am,” Shane replied with a wistful tone and eyes too fond.

Ryan bit the inside of his cheek, hard; and stuffed his hands into the kangaroo pouch of his hoodie to hide their incessant shaking. “Do you wanna—” his voice caught and he cleared his throat, “Um, get dinner?”

“Oh, um,” Shane rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, “I actually have a lot of work to finish still.”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Ryan turned his gaze to the dark sky somewhere beside Shane’s forehead, visibly deflating. “That’s cool, totally understandable.”

“If you don’t mind,” Shane interjected, realising his voice was much too loud in a deserted parking lot, and blushed to the tips of his ears again. “If you don’t mind,” he repeated, volume more measured, “how about popcorn and a movie? My place.” He couldn’t wipe the hopefulness from his voice or face, and Ryan responded in kind.

He barked a laugh of relief. “That sounds ideal, actually.”

“Well, I’m glad I’ve got the official Ryan Bergara seal of approval.”

Ryan nudged him playfully, and they fell into their usual rhythm of banter easily. “There’s Steven,” Ryan jerked his chin towards the car easing into the lot. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Why are you always so persnickety?”

“One of us has to be, or else we’d never get anything done.”

“Are you calling me lazy?” Shane screeched, but Ryan just replied with a laugh free of shadows, and hustled Shane into the car.

If they noticed the first stirrings of snow in the air like the promise of something fragile and brand new; neither mentioned it.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed it! 
> 
> I did use Google Translate on those terms, and yes, I know how shitty it can be. Apologies if I’ve butchered the languages. 
> 
> I’ve also got some other ideas regarding the lore of this AU, so hopefully I can find the time to write them and post it before Christmas. If you’ve got ideas or comments about the current state it’s in, please feel free to post them! I’d be more than happy if you did!


End file.
